Wednesday, 31 May 2017

Algarve Bee Eaters, Berries, Butterflies, Pathways and Poppies.

This week has raced by, and it's time for anther Wild Bird Wednesday. I can hardly believe it's already mid week, as we have been busy on the farm with the orange and fig harvest. Thankfully I still have loads of shares from our hols on the Algarve, so I hastily put together a few pictures of some things I noticed on our walks in the country during our time there. I hope you enjoy.

The fields and hedgerows were ablaze with red poppies,...

but there were many wild flowers in the mix.

Poppies on one side of the path, and....

on the sandy banks of the other side, a Bee-eater's nesting site .

Here is one just outside the tunnel leading to his nest.

These brightly coloured berries grew everywhere in the hedgerows ,. It is the Mediterranean smilax, ( s. áspera) in fruit.
It's berries are unpalatable for human consumption, but they are a great source of nourishment for birds.

Many had what seemed like spider's webs tightly wound around some of the clusters.

The European Bee-eater can often be seen perched on fences and cable wires.

This one caught a bee in mid air. The Bee-eater can eat around 250 bees a day, it's main source of food, but they also eat dragonflies, and other insects.

Their bright colours are not evident in these flight shots, but they were very far away.

Back in the hedgerow, there was plenty to see.

The underwings of the Marbled White.

The Marsh Fritillary.

The Small White.

Some more berries without the webs.

You can clearly see the two elongated central tail feathers in this shot. Sexes are alike, but the female tends to have more green rather than gold on shoulders.

32 comments:

Your photos are wonderful of the brightly coloured bee-eater!It is just so lovely to go out walking and enjoy the sights and beauties of the hedgerows this time of year!Sounds like you are very busy! Have fun!

WoW, what a great group of images!! I wondered immediately if the berries were edible...I can't help it, I am a foodie!! The beeeaters are so beautiful, the poppies and butterflies as well. I adore the butterflies that look like stained glass, I have seen them many times but only in butterfly houses!!

Indeed, there’s a lot to see around there and you captured things lovely! The bee-eater looks wonderful with different colors and I ever know they built nesting as holes in sandbanks. I have seen and shot only green bee-eaters… and the berries look alike and hung as grapes

Once again, your photos are "Breathtaking" Debbie! What caught my eye was the berries with the webbing around it....I've never seen that before. And I love the colorful poppies.....beautiful! Enjoy this lovely day!!!!

What a beautiful bird. That is one I hope to see. You have such a lovely area to explore. As always, I love your butterflies and finds. Also didn't know that Bee-eaters nest in those little hillside holes. Very cool .

No, you weren't late in posting your link! It's open to anyone wanting to share thru Wednesday evening.

Magnificent collection of images. I didn't realize the bee-eaters =is that spelled correctly? - had nests in the banks like swallows a bit. I learned something new. And they're so colorful.

What a wonderful array of photo shares. I enjoyed them all. The light red/purple berry bush is quite similar to Texas's called : American Beauty Bush...see if you agree when you have time to google search.

Thanks so much for joining us birders at I'd Rather B Birdin' this weekend. It's always wonderful to have you share.

What can I say Sonjia? Your pictures just transported me back to Menorca on May 1st with the poppies, the Bee Eaters the fig trees, and the bright sunny days. I don't think I saw that berry in Menorca and you don't say if its edible or better still able to be made into wine?

Every time I see your photos I say to myself that i must visit Portugal but September sees us in greece and we have already booked Menorca 2018. One day....

The poppy fields are really amazing to see! The bee-eater is fantastic. This is why I really like a beautiful bird! The brightly colored berries are beautiful (can you eat this?)I've repeated these beautiful pictures.A hug

About Me

Photography came to me late in life. My husband had always taken our family and holiday photos, whilst I indulged in artistic hobbies of my own. It just never
occurred to me to do otherwise. Whilst I was at Art College, and later as a textile and fashion designer I had taken photos of my work, but that was all part of my job. Three years ago due to constant back pain, I had to give up painting “my first love” as I could no longer stand or sit for long stretches at a time, my physician advised me to walk for an hour every day. It was gruelling at first, but on keeping to this regular
activity my meanderings became less painful and my eyes keener. Always appreciative of nature, the desire to capture these wondrous moments on camera, became a need, and finally became a reality when my husband gave me my first camera, and I’ve never looked back. My camera and I have become inseparable. From the moment I go into the garden and surrounding countryside, it becomes an adventure, and I’m never happier than when I spot something of extraordinary beauty, but a thing of beauty is better when shared.